CHESTER, Pa.- Eastern University Women's Lacrosse took a 7-4 halftime lead at Widener and held on for an 11-9 win over the Pride. Senior midfielder Courtney Reinhold led the way for the Eagles with four goals.

The host Pride answered an early Sara Blaylock tally with two straight goals to hold a 2-1 lead ten minutes into the contest. The Eagles then buried five goals in a seven minute span to seize control of the game with a 6-2 lead with ten minutes to play in the opening period.

Reinhold scored her first of the day to start the run. A Kristy Getsay save helped the Eagles to grab possession after a lost draw. The senior goalkeeper stopped 9 shots in net to pickup the win. Lauren Solazzo grabbed the ground ball after the save and Shannon Wilcox scored to give the Eagles a 3-2 edge.

Eastern then scored two goals in a row off draw controls. Allie Gauthier corralled the first draw and scored 14 seconds later. Reinhold then took advantage of a Solazzo draw control to give the Eagles a 5-2 edge. Blaylock hit a pipe with a shot but was able to grab her own rebound. Shortly thereafter, Jocelyn Paul finished to give the Eagles their only four goal edge of the game.

The Pride scored two straight before Reinhold closed the scoring in the first half after the Eagles kept Widener in their own end on a clearing attempt. Eastern had a 15-11 edge in first-half shots.

The Eagles had very little time to relax in the second half, but Coach Azzarano's squad was able to control time of possession and take away balls with good pressure defense.

"This game in particular, because we executed our offense," Azzarano said, "allows us to grow. It allows us to break down some of the details of our attack. We gained confidence with a win. We have had a tough early season schedule, and there is a point where it is really important to see success."

"I did not see draw control stats," she continued, "but I felt Lauren Solazzo was huge for us there. Her steadiness and smoothness as a player helps us there." [Solazzo had three draw controls and fellow freshman Blaylock had six as Eastern won 12 draws to the Pride's ten.]

She also pointed to the play of Getsay in critical moments for her squad.

The Eagles will look to continue to develop confidence keeping the ball in late game situations as they prepare for upcoming games at Wilkes and against Manhattanville.